The present invention relates generally to optical systems for distributing light from a light source and more particularly to a beam forming optical system for an individual LED light source.
Commercially available LEDs have characteristic spatial radiation patterns with respect to an optical axis which passes through the light emitting die. A common characteristic of all of LED radiation patterns is that light is emitted from one side of a plane containing the light emitting die in a pattern surrounding the LED optical axis, which is perpendicular to the plane. Light generated by an LED is radiated within a hemisphere centered on the optical axis. The distribution of light radiation within this hemisphere is determined by the shape and optical properties of the lens (if any) covering the light emitting die of the LED. Thus, LEDs can be described as “directional” light sources, since all of the light they generate is emitted from one side of the device.
For purposes of this application, light emitted from an LED can be described as “narrow angle” light emitted at an angle of less than about 35° from the optical axis and “wide angle” light emitted at an angle of more than about 35° from the optical axis. The initial “emitted” trajectory of wide angle and narrow angle light may necessitate manipulation by different portions of a reflector and/or optical element to provide the desired illumination pattern.
The use of LEDs in warning and signaling lights is well known. Older models of LEDs produced limited quantities of light over a relatively narrow viewing angle centered on an optical axis of the LED. These LEDs were typically aggregated in compact arrays to fill the given illuminated area and provide the necessary light output. More recently developed high output LEDs produce significantly greater luminous flux per component, permitting fewer LEDs to produce the luminous flux required for many warning and signaling applications. It is known to arrange a small number of high-output LEDs in a light fixture and provide each high-output LED with an internally reflecting (TIR) collimating lens. The collimating lens organizes light from the LED into a collimated beam centered on the LED optical axis. Such an arrangement typically does not fill the light fixture, resulting in an undesirable appearance consisting of bright, circular spots arranged against an unlit background. Light-spreading optical features on the outside lens/cover are sometimes employed to improve the appearance and optical performance of the light fixture. The most common configuration for such TIR lenses is circular, but housings may be elongated and rectangular, resulting in an aesthetic mismatch between the resulting illumination pattern and the housing geometry.
This application will address optical arrangements for modifying the emitted trajectory of light from an LED with respect to a reference line. For purposes of this application, “collimated” means “re-directed into a trajectory substantially parallel with a reference line.” Substantially parallel refers to a trajectory within 5° of parallel with the reference line. For an LED mounted to a vertical surface, light is emitted in a hemispherical pattern centered on the optical axis of the LED, which is perpendicular to the vertical surface, i.e., the optical axis of the LED is horizontal.
FIG. 18 schematically illustrates a prior art collimator of a configuration frequently employed in conjunction with LED light sources. Light from an LED positioned in a cavity defined by the collimator is organized into a collimated beam aligned with the optical axis of the LED. The known internally reflecting collimator for an LED is a molded solid of light transmissive plastic such as acrylic or polycarbonate. The radial periphery of the collimator is defined by an aspheric internal reflecting surface flaring upwardly and outwardly to a substantially planar light emission surface. The bottom of the collimator includes a cavity centered over the LED optical axis. The cavity is defined by a substantially cylindrical side-wall and an aspheric upper surface. The aspheric upper surface is configured to refract light emitted at small angles relative to the LED optical axis to a direction parallel with the LED optical axis. The shape of the aspheric upper surface is calculated from the refractive properties of the air/solid interface, the position of the LED point of light emission relative to the surface, the configuration of the surface through which the light will be emitted, and the desired direction of light emission, e.g., parallel to the LED optical axis. The mathematical relationship between the angle of incidence of a light ray to a surface and the angle of the refracted ray to the surface is governed by Snell's Law: “The refracted ray lies in the plane of incidence, and the sine of the angle of refraction bears a constant ratio to the sine of the angle of incidence.” (sin θ/sin θ′=constant, where θ is the angle of incidence and θ′ is the angle of refraction)
For any particular point on the substantially cylindrical side-wall, the path of light refracted into the collimator can be calculated using Snell's law. The shape of the peripheral aspheric internal reflecting surface is calculated from the path of light refracted by the substantially cylindrical side-wall surface, the configuration of the surface through which light will be emitted, and the desired direction of light emission, e.g., parallel to the LED optical axis. The resulting aspheric internal reflecting surface redirects light incident upon it in a direction parallel to the optical axis of the LED.
The result is that substantially all of the light emitted from the LED is redirected parallel to the optical axis of the LED to form a collimated beam. This arrangement efficiently gathers light from the LED and redirects that light into a direction of intended light emission. Unless the light is somehow spread, the light from each LED appears to the viewer as a bright spot the size and shape of the collimator, which is circular. It is typically less efficient to collimate light and then re-direct the collimated light into a desired pattern than it is to modify only those components of the emitted trajectory that do not contribute to the desired emission pattern, while leaving desirable components of the emitted trajectory undisturbed. A lens or reflecting surface in the form of a surface of rotation centered on the optical axis of the LED, if properly configured, can modify the trajectory of emitted light relative to the optical axis, whereas other surface configurations will only modify components of the trajectory, resulting in light emission that is not collimated with respect to the optical axis of the LED. This explains the surface configurations employed in most collimating optical systems.